


Sea Prune Surprise

by Pidgeapodge



Series: The Royal Dorks [8]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cooking, Cute, Family, Festivals, Festivities, Friendship, Fun, Gen, sea prunes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:33:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26632174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pidgeapodge/pseuds/Pidgeapodge
Summary: Izumi tries stewed sea prunes for the first time.
Series: The Royal Dorks [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2012743
Kudos: 62





	Sea Prune Surprise

Izumi whooped as she slid down the hill on the back of an otter-penguin. Who knew penguin sledding could be so fun?

Uncle Aang, that’s who. 

It was her first trip to the South Pole. At thirteen, Izumi had been to a lot of places, especially Republic City, but she had never gotten the chance to visit the Southern Water Tribe before. Most of the royal dealings seemed to take place in the north. Still, Izumi tried to learn all she could about all the nations, especially the places the members of her extended family came from. Her mother, Fire Lady Mai, sometimes called Izumi her “Little Bookworm.”

Now, it was approaching the winter solstice, and the royal family was invited to celebrate the Glacier Spirits Festival with Katara and her family in the South Pole. 

Izumi watched in awe as Aang used airbending to propel himself high into the air on his penguin. Otter-penguins were surprisingly sturdy creatures. The penguin she was riding on slowed to a stop, and she dismounted. Aang managed to use his momentum to turn his penguin around and glide back to her. 

“So, what’d you think?” he asked. 

“I loved it!” Izumi’s teeth chattered, and her glasses were fogged up, and her breath was visible, but she managed to grin. She had no idea how Aang managed to wear such light, flowey clothing even in the antarctic; she herself was wrapped up in several layers of sweaters underneath her Fire Nation red parka (a gift from Uncle Sokka). 

“Dad, watch this!” Bumi’s voice echoed from the top of the hill. Aang and Izumi turned to watch the twelve-year-old wild child zoom down the large hill, up a much smaller hill, and into the air, where he performed a backflip. Bumi and his penguin landed successfully on the downward slope of the smaller hill and pulled to a stop in front of his father. He grinned maniacally up at Aang. 

Izumi clapped enthusiastically. She could do all kinds of acrobatics on solid ground, but a backflip in midair on a penguin is something only Bumi could do. Aang let out a slow whistle.

“Looked like you were flying, there, buddy!”

“Come on in, everyone! Dinner’s almost ready!”

Izumi and Bumi bid their penguins goodbye, running over to the house Katara had called from. Aang took a leisurely pace behind them. Izumi sighed with relief upon crossing the threshold. Inside the house was  _ so _ much warmer than outside! 

Izumi rubbed her mittened hands together and exhaled on them. Her glasses fogged up even more for a second, but slowly the fog and frost began melting away. Izumi began to peel off her boots and outer lawyers as Bumi already rushed to the table. 

“Bumi, make sure to wash your hands!” said Katara. 

Bumi groaned, but he went over to the sink to wash his hands. Izumi followed.

Sokka and Katara had come together to cook a traditional Water Tribe feast. There were prime cuts of tiger seal and otter penguin meat, impeccably seasoned and cooked to be tender. And of course, stewed sea prunes. 

Izumi was honestly a little nervous. She knew Uncle Aang famously did not like sea prunes. She knew from her reading that they, along with lots of Water Tribe food, were often salty. She didn’t know what her reaction would be, and she didn’t want to embarrass her gracious hosts. 

Sokka set out the bowls of stewed sea prunes, and Izumi looked nervously around the table. Aang sat down and said an Airbender blessing, and then they tucked in.

Izumi lifted the sea prunes hesitantly to her mouth with her chopsticks. No sense in delaying the inevitable. She took a bite.

Izumi froze. Aang looked over at her and chuckled.

“Sea prunes certainly are a shock, aren’t they?” he asked. His smile turned to a gape and his eyes widened as Izumi began shoveling sea prunes into her mouth. 

They were so  _ good _ ! Yes they were salty, and the tang of vinegar bit at her tongue, but they were so so so good! Izumi couldn’t believe Bumi held out on her like this. She knew sea prunes were his favorite, but he never bothered to let her know  _ why _ .

Katara and Sokka looked over at the princess and smiled. “What do you think, Izumi?” asked Katara.

Izumi took a break from inhaling her sea prunes and looked back at them with a full mouth. All she was capable of saying was “Mmmmmm!”

“It looks like we have a young lady of fine taste,” said Sokka. 

Zuko and Mai turned to the Water Tribe siblings with smiles as well. “These are really good, guys,” said Zuko.

Aang looked around the table in shock. “Traitors. You have all betrayed me.”

“Be quiet and eat your prunes, sweetie,” said Katara. 

Izumi quickly finished her bowl and looked up. “Um, Aunt Katara… are there any more? It was really,  _ really  _ good!”

Katara smiled sweetly at little Izumi. “Of course, dear! Sokka and I made plenty!”

Sure, Izumi was looking forward to the games and festivities after dinner, but for the moment she was content to stuff her face with sea prunes. 

**Author's Note:**

> I thought it would be funny if everyone but Aang liked sea prunes. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed! Comments are appreciated! :)


End file.
